Thiophene functionalized naphthalene diimide for the sensitive detection of nitroaromatics

Abstract

In recent years, the detection of nitroaromatics (NACs) has attracted the researchers’ attention due to increased threats of terrorist and environmental protection. In this regard, tetra-thiophene (Th) functionalized naphthalene diimide (NDI) conjugate NDI-Th has been synthesized and confirmed via spectroscopic methods. UV-Vis and fluorescence methods have been utilized to examine the photophysical characteristics of NDI-Th in various solvent systems. Moreover, NDI-Th as a fluorescent sensor displays selective recognition of 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) and 2,4-trinitrophenol (TNP) with a limit of detection of 4.74×10–8 M and 7.60×10–8 M, respectively. Thus NDI-Th acts as a promising candidate for explosive multi-NACs detection.